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Gene Evans
| birth_place = Holbrook, Arizona, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. | series = M*A*S*H | character = Clayton Kibbee | episodes = "Blood and Guts" in Season 9 }} Eugene Barton "Gene" Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) made a guest appearance on M*A*S*H as Clayton Kibbee, a war correspondent who uses fiction to enliven his war stories, in the Season 9 episode titled "Blood and Guts". Evans built a solid career on stage and in films before venturing into TV in the early 1950s, where he appeared largely in roles in westerns and war films, as both villans and heroes. Biograhy Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona, but reared in Colton, California. His acting career began while he was serving in the United States Army during World War II. He performed with a theatrical troupe of GIs in Europe. Evans made his film debut in 1947 and appeared in dozens of films and television programs. He specialized in playing tough guys such as cowboys, sheriffs, convicts, and sergeants. Acting career Gene appeared in numerous films produced, directed, and written by Samuel Fuller. In his memoirs A Third Face, Fuller described meeting Evans when casting his Korean War film The Steel Helmet (1950). Fuller threw an M1 Garand rifle at Evans, who caught it and inspected it as a soldier would have done. Evans had been a U.S. Army engineer in World War II. Fuller kept Evans and refused John Wayne for the role.Fuller, Samuel A Third Face My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking. 2002: Alfred A Knopf and fighting to keep him despite Robert L. Lippert and his partner wanting Larry Parks for the role. Fuller walked off the film and would not return until Evans was reinstated.Fuller, Samuel A Third Face My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking. 2002: Alfred A Knopf, pp. 258-59 Evans also appeared in Fuller's Fixed Bayonets!, Hell and High Water, Shock Corridor and lost thirty pounds to play the lead in Park Row.http://www.allmovie.com/movie/park-row-v105576 In 1966, Evans appeared on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason as Sheriff "Moose" Dalton in "The Case of the Scarlet Scandal." In the fall of 1976, Gene starred in the 11-episode CBS adventure series, Spencer's Pilots, along with Christopher Stone, Todd Susman, and Britt Leach. In January 1979, Evans appeared as Garrison Southworth in one episode of CBS's Dallas. He guest starred in ten episodes of CBS's Gunsmoke with James Arness, including several of the best-remembered segments, including "The Snow Train", "Tatum", and "Thirty a Month and Found". In 1965, Evans guest starred as Jake Burnett in the episode "Vendetta" of ABC's western series, The Legend of Jesse James starring Christopher Jones. Two years later, he appeared as Deedricks in the episode "Breakout" of another ABC western, Custer, starring Wayne Maunder in the title role. Later years n the late 1980s, Evans appeared on stage as the gruesome Papa in the stage production Papa is All, directed by playwright Tommy F. Scott in Jackson, Tennessee. He retired to a farm in Tennessee following his role in the original film version of Walking Tall. Death Evans died of heart failure. He is buried in Highland Memorial Gardens in Jackson, Tennessee. References External links * Category:Actors Category:Guest stars